0:00:04 > 0:00:06The Moon.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08For millions of years it looked down at the Earth
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with its lopsided face
0:00:10 > 0:00:12and baffled mankind.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16It was worshipped as a deity.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Its phases have been linked to fertility and insanity.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23The ancients believed that if they built a tower tall enough,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27they'd be able to reach up, pluck it out of the sky and own it.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Sooner or later, we were going to want to take a closer look at it.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34NEIL ARMSTRONG OVER RADIO: 'That's one small step for man...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'...one giant leap for mankind.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:42JAMES: That was all in 1969, when I was just a lad,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46and now I've become a bit nostalgic.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49"We choose to go to the Moon," said President Kennedy,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51"not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Three, two, one, engage.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54How hard was it?
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Legs tight. Deep breath.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00(GROANING)
0:01:00 > 0:01:02If you've just tuned in,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05this is, in fact, a serious documentary
0:01:05 > 0:01:07about the Apollo Moon mission.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11I'm going to revisit a time when anything seemed possible...
0:01:11 > 0:01:15MAN OVER RADIO: Our observation booth is literally being shaken apart.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17...and see for myself why going to space
0:01:17 > 0:01:19changed the way we look at the Earth.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Yeah!
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Oh, man, I've got the curvature of the horizon thing.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Look at that. That's perfect.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Oh, it's lovely.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Man in heaven.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36- Beautiful, beautiful. - Ain't that something?
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Magnificent desolation.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46(MAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY OVER RADIO)
0:01:51 > 0:01:55I'm starting at a remote Air Force base in California.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58They say this is the land of dreams.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Well, I'm hoping it can help me fulfil one of mine.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10This is a Pontiac GTO,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12the 6-litre one, 400-brake horsepower.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It's what the Americans would think of as a sports car.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18It's about muscle rather than agility, as we would have in Europe.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20This will do 0 to 60 in under 4.5 seconds.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24We could go and make an American road movie in it
0:02:24 > 0:02:29but instead we're going to use it to chase an aeroplane.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31It's a weird-looking thing
0:02:31 > 0:02:35but then it is the world's highest-flying aeroplane.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43It should be here any second...now.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48(# LED ZEPPELIN: Kashmir)
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Wow.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Oh, look at that.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We'll talk him down to 10 feet.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00There's 10, 8, 7, 6, 5.
0:03:00 > 0:03:024...
0:03:02 > 0:03:06(INDISTINCT)
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Just a little bit more left rudder.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13This is a U-2 spy plane.
0:03:13 > 0:03:19It's the peak of 1950s aviation from the dawn of the space age.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22The car chase isn't a TV stunt.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23The plane is so difficult to land,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27the pilot needs a second pair of eyes in the car below.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31That's an aeroplane with a wingspan of almost 100ft
0:03:31 > 0:03:35landing on, essentially, bicycle wheels.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40This aeroplane's stomping ground is at an altitude that,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44back in the '50s, would have been considered the edge of space.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58At 46, I am too old, too unfit, and, frankly, too long-haired
0:03:58 > 0:04:01ever to know what it would mean to be an astronaut.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02But this is a place where they can take me
0:04:02 > 0:04:04to a sort of first base of space flight -
0:04:04 > 0:04:07the nearest a normal mortal like me
0:04:07 > 0:04:12could come to knowing what it's like to be an astronaut.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23The Air Force have offered to take me up 70,000ft above the Earth
0:04:23 > 0:04:26where I'll be able to look up into the blackness of space.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Up there, any failure of the aircraft's pressurisation system
0:04:30 > 0:04:34will require more than a plastic oxygen mask and a rubber band.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So, to do it I'll need to wear a spacesuit.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50NASA's first spacesuits were based on the ones worn by U-2 pilots,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52because even before the space race started,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57they were already up there, pushing the outside of the envelope.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05And 50 years on, they're still doing it.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14I've got three days to prepare for my trip in the U-2.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36That flight will be the finale to my own mission.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39More than that, it'll be the realisation of a childhood dream
0:05:39 > 0:05:42that's been with me for 40 years.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51This is the VIP enclosure at Cape Kennedy.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55It was here, on 16 July 1969,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58that people gathered in Apollo-era sunglasses
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and sports jackets and brightly coloured floral dresses
0:06:01 > 0:06:04to watch the launch of Apollo 11,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06the first attempt to land on the Moon.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08It's a very, very hallowed place, this.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11I can't actually look at the old countdown clock over there
0:06:11 > 0:06:13without feeling a slight shiver.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15It's so familiar from old footage and old photographs.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18REPORTER: They take with them this morning
0:06:18 > 0:06:21the good wishes and the admiration of a world of people.
0:06:21 > 0:06:2740 years ago, I didn't really grasp the enormity of all this.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Although, in fairness, 40 years ago, I was only six.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32In fact, by the time they landed on the Moon, I was in bed,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34because that was in the middle of the night.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37But my dad came to get me up and he took me into the sitting room
0:06:37 > 0:06:40where there were all these people chewing their fingernails off.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43There was Mum and Dad, Grandpa, Grandmother,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46aunts, uncles, big sister and so on.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52It was a moment of global nervousness that made such an impression on me
0:06:52 > 0:06:53that it still resonates,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55even though I didn't really understand
0:06:55 > 0:06:57what it was all about back then.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I'm at the foot of the ladder.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02After the landings, my dad took me out into the garden
0:07:02 > 0:07:03to look at the Moon,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and I thought I'd actually be able to see Collins in the command module orbiting,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09because a quarter of a million miles
0:07:09 > 0:07:13is just an inconceivable distance when you're six years old.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Gran and Gramp's house was about three hours away by car,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and that's eternity when you're that age.
0:07:23 > 0:07:2612 men walked on the Moon.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Only nine are still alive.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Soon the whole episode will pass from living memory.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35So I've arranged to meet a few of them,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39starting with Alan Bean, lunar module pilot on Apollo 12.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50What sort of a man is actually chosen,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53out of all the men there are in the world, to go to the Moon?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Alan Bean will be the first Apollo astronaut I've ever met
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and to be honest, in my imagination,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00they live on Tracy Island in Thunderbirds
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and they eat food out of toothpaste tubes,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and everything in their life goes, "Whoosh" or "Beep".
0:08:06 > 0:08:09But this turns out to be a fairly normal house.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I've also promised myself I won't just go in and say,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14"What's it like to be on the Moon?"
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Cos that's, of course, what everybody else does.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I'll try and think of something a bit more original than that.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Here we go.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Alan Bean, Apollo astronaut.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32BELL CHIMES
0:08:39 > 0:08:41This must be him.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- Hello, James. - Alan Bean.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Welcome to my home and studio. Come in, please.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Thank you very much. What a pleasure.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Did you set out to be an astronaut
0:08:59 > 0:09:01and did you have an ambition to go to the Moon,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03or did the system find you and think,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07"This bloke Alan Bean, he looks like the right sort of chap"?
0:09:07 > 0:09:08I wish they would do that.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10No, it worked out this way.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12As a kid, as far back as I can remember,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I wanted to be a pilot.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I never flew in an airplane, but watching movies,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I thought, "This looks like fun. I'd like to do that."
0:09:19 > 0:09:21So that dream never went away for me.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26I went to flight training and I became a test pilot.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I thought I had the best job in the world when I was doing all this.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Piloting, whatever.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34"This is great. They're paying me to do this."
0:09:34 > 0:09:35I'd do it for free if I could.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38It might have seemed like fun to Alan,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40but it was a hell of a dangerous job.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Test pilots could have very short careers.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47But they were an elite band,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50set on pushing the boundaries of aviation ever higher,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54and from their ranks came the pioneers of space flight.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I turned on the TV one day,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and a guy named Yuri Gagarin is orbiting the Earth.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04I thought, "That looks like more fun than I'm having."
0:10:04 > 0:10:07And I watched Al Shepard get launched up for about a 15-minute flight
0:10:07 > 0:10:11and in that 15 minutes he'd gone higher than I'd ever gone,
0:10:11 > 0:10:16faster, and more importantly, he made a lot more noise doing it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21I thought, "That's what I want to be. This looks like fun."
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Apollo astronauts were a breed apart.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Alan Bean and his mates seemed to the rest of us
0:10:29 > 0:10:33to be more like rock stars than mere technicians.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36# In the days of my youth
0:10:36 > 0:10:40# I was told what it means to be a man... #
0:10:40 > 0:10:42I thought I'd reunite him with an old friend.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- Recognise this? - I sure do.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Had a lot of fun in this car... long time ago. 40 years ago.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52See, this is what's missing from current space operations.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54It's that sense of swagger and theatre.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56I agree with you.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Some beautiful colour, isn't it?
0:10:58 > 0:11:02We had them all painted this colour so that we'd be identified as the crew.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04When we'd go to work we'd park 'em side by side.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06They looked great.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08We had the best job in the world.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Would you like a ride? It's a pretty nice machine.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I don't know if I can still drive it, but how would you like a ride?
0:11:14 > 0:11:15- Go on. - Want to take a chance?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17- Yeah.- All right.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18You've been to the Moon.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I'm fairly confident you can take me round the block.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Well, not sure. But we'll find out. Here, jump in.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I suppose astronauts had to be a bit rock'n'roll.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32They worked in conditions that us mortals could never experience,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35including one that concerned scientists
0:11:35 > 0:11:39as soon as space flight was suggested.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Rather alarmingly,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59this aeroplane is known to its friends as the Vomit Comet.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01That's a clue to the way it flies.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It doesn't just fly along in a straight line like a normal airliner.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06This is where astronauts come
0:12:06 > 0:12:09to learn what life is like without gravity.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12This is a proper astronaut training exercise.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15The way it works - it's quite complicated -
0:12:15 > 0:12:18the aeroplane flies a parabolic trajectory,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21which leaves you effectively weightless when you're inside it,
0:12:21 > 0:12:22but the easy way to think of it
0:12:22 > 0:12:26is that it goes over an extremely long humpback bridge.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30I'd also like to boast that at no point in my life
0:12:30 > 0:12:32have I ever been sick on an aeroplane
0:12:32 > 0:12:35or in a car or on a boat or on a fairground ride,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37or any of those things.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But that might be about to change.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45This little pocket has a bag in it. You know - just in case.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Because this plane doesn't do just one parabola...
0:12:51 > 0:12:53..it does 16.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55And for every 30 seconds I'm weightless,
0:12:55 > 0:13:00there'll be another when my weight's doubled.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Before the space race,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10no-one was actually sure if human beings could survive in zero gravity.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Some specialists thought our internal organs would just fall apart
0:13:20 > 0:13:24and we'd drop down dead, or float away dead, anyway.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27PASSENGERS WHOOP AND SQUEAL
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Then the Americans sent a whole menagerie of animals into orbit
0:13:33 > 0:13:35to see what it would do for them.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And they all survived.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42That wasn't really the point - the point was...
0:13:44 > 0:13:47The point...the point was... Oh, God.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53The point was, would a man be able to do something useful in zero gravity?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55For example, operate a spaceship.
0:13:56 > 0:14:02What they did was send a trained chimpanzee called Ham into orbit
0:14:02 > 0:14:06on 31 January 1961.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Ham had been trained to pull a series of levers
0:14:08 > 0:14:11in response to flashing lights.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13The red lever is for the red light,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and the white lever for the blue light.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19If he did that right, he was rewarded with a banana-flavoured chip.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22If he got it wrong, he was electrocuted.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Ham is laced in his couch and wired for sound.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27The electrodes on his feet
0:14:27 > 0:14:30will give him a gentle shock in case he forgets.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35PASSENGERS SCREAM AND LAUGH It's a pile-up.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Sorry.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Whoa! Hello, how are you doing?
0:14:46 > 0:14:51This is where this child's game comes in, cos it's a very similar thing.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57What happens is these lights go on in sequence.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04I have to get the same sequence when I press these two little buttons.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08If I get it wrong, it gives me a shock.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Ow!
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Ham the chimp didn't have any problem with this.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16He was doing it in zero G, which I'm going to try in a minute.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I've forgotten.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I hate this thing.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Here we go. It was that one, wasn't it? Yes, it was.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36I can do it. I can do it.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Sorry.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49I can't do it.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52LAUGHING
0:15:52 > 0:15:55The tests carried out in the Vomit Comet
0:15:55 > 0:16:01showed that astronauts WOULD be able to function in zero gravity.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Oh, God. Space flight's absolutely hilarious.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13Thanks, awfully.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Mmm.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Now, that was obviously terrific fun,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23but also surprisingly exhausting.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26So we should spare a thought for the astronauts
0:16:26 > 0:16:29who had to do that thousands and thousands of times,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31because every time a new piece of kit was developed,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33or a new procedure was suggested,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36they had to go and try it out in zero gravity.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It might be how to put a spacesuit on,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41how to have a shave, how to take a comfort break.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44It all had to be tried out in the Vomit Comet.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48While all that was going on, other people were busy building rockets,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51including, interestingly enough, me,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53because back then, one of the most exciting things
0:16:53 > 0:16:55you could get for your birthday
0:16:55 > 0:16:59was the construction kit of the Saturn V rocket.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Here, for example, is the bit where you construct stage 2.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04You've got five of those little rocket engines.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07They come in two halves. You have to glue those together.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Fantastically exciting and evocative.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13If you think this looks quite complicated,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15you should have seen how they drew the real thing,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18because they did quite literally draw it.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23This was the sort of work done by men who had pencils behind their ears.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25They envisaged things, they drew them on paper,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28they drew them again and again until they got them right,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and then some other people went off and they bent metal.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33They welded things and they riveted stuff together.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Slide rules, protractors and log tables produced this beast,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42capable of flying to the Moon.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46At Cape Kennedy it's a wonderful day for a wonderful event -
0:17:46 > 0:17:47the first manned flight to the Moon.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Just look at this awe-inspiring sight behind here,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52the great Moon rocket ready on its pad
0:17:52 > 0:17:57like a great cathedral tower of ice in the morning light.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11It is very complicated.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15In fact, it is still regarded as the most complicated machine ever built.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But at the same time, it's actually rather low-tech.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22In fact, if you look at it closely, it appears to be the combined effort
0:18:22 > 0:18:26of a central heating engineer and a light-aircraft manufacturer.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29That is all pipes and valves and unions and seals
0:18:29 > 0:18:34and the rocket itself is aluminium sheet and rivets and screw heads.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36It's quite remarkable, really.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38And it's even better when you're shown around
0:18:38 > 0:18:41by someone who's actually flown one to the Moon.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I must congratulate you on the size of your rocket.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I always forget how big it is until I see it again.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Yeah, we had the heaviest launch vehicle for Apollo 17.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Harrison Schmitt was one of the last men to ride a Saturn V.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59He wasn't a fighter jock.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03He was selected because NASA wanted to send a scientist up there.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09The other thing that strikes me about it, looking at it in bits
0:19:09 > 0:19:10and thinking about the launch,
0:19:10 > 0:19:14is the basic principles of rocketry and a big rocket
0:19:14 > 0:19:16are actually quite simple, aren't they?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18I mean, rocket engines, in principle,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20are much simpler than, say, petrol engines.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23But it's just the amount of actual stuff that you need
0:19:23 > 0:19:25to do it on that scale.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27You have to control the burn.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30You have to control the injection of the materials that are going in.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34That has to be very precisely controlled to maximise the thrust.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36It's not actually very sophisticated.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42It's pipes, tubes, wires, rivets, aluminium sheet.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Well, you have to move liquids and electrons.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- Yeah.- Mostly liquids.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55At the time, the lightest-weight structural material they had
0:19:55 > 0:19:58was aluminium alloy.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01So that is liquid oxygen and kerosene.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Kerosene. - Paraffin. Aviation fuel, in effect.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And that is a bomb, really, isn't it?
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Well, yeah, the whole thing is.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I can't believe there wasn't a moment of doubt in your mind
0:20:12 > 0:20:14when you sat up at the pointy bit and thought,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16"That's a hell of a lot of fuel underneath
0:20:16 > 0:20:19"and it only needs a ropy bit of riveting by some bloke and..."
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I think we all believed that the launch escape system would save us
0:20:22 > 0:20:24if there was any problem.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27That's confidence.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29This rocket had six million components.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Even with NASA's target of 99.9% success,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37they could expect 6,000 parts to fail even on a good launch.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40One of the interesting things is that
0:20:40 > 0:20:44when you see the thrusters up there on the side of the service module,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47each one of those has about 50 pounds of thrust.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51And you always have to think of that in terms of
0:20:51 > 0:20:531.5 million pounds of thrust in the F1 engine.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56And the spectrum of technology that was required
0:20:56 > 0:20:59to make this kind of an adventure happen.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01That's a very good pub fact, that, Astronaut Schmitt.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Thank you very much. That'll be useful.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04My pleasure.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09But what still amazes me is this.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12The vast majority of the giant rocket stack -
0:21:12 > 0:21:15three whole stages, 94% of its fuel -
0:21:15 > 0:21:18got it just 100 miles from Earth.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22The basics of it are this.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28This bit up here, plus the lunar module that it docks with, is - wait for it -
0:21:28 > 0:21:30the spacecraft.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33This is the bit we have to send to the Moon.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36All of this bit is the launch vehicle.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Now, for this bit to go to the Moon,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42it has to be accelerated to nearly 25,000mph
0:21:42 > 0:21:44so that it can escape the pull of Earth's gravity
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and be captured by the Moon's gravity.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51The simple way of thinking about this is like the gearbox of a car.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56First gear sends you up through the dense atmosphere to 6,000mph.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Second gear accelerates you to just over 15,000mph
0:21:59 > 0:22:00through the upper atmosphere.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Third gear, here, takes you into orbit above the Earth
0:22:04 > 0:22:06and then it fires again - that's fourth gear -
0:22:06 > 0:22:09that takes you out of orbit and on the way to the Moon.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14Finally, you're going through the vacuum of space in this.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16You're coasting - you're in top gear.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19OMINOUS MUSIC
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Sitting on top of 7.5 million pounds of thrust
0:22:29 > 0:22:33was going to be buttock-clenching, even for a fighter jock.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45NASA did their best to weed out any with the wrong stuff.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48They concocted a brutal programme of tests
0:22:48 > 0:22:51which happened at places like Brooks Air Force Base in Texas.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I suspect today is not going to be very relaxing.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00DRAMATIC MUSIC
0:23:03 > 0:23:04Back in the 1960s,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07the face of Air Force doctor Dan Fulgham
0:23:07 > 0:23:10was one no astronaut wanted to see.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13- Hello, James.- Hello, Doctor.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15You ready for a little spin today?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19- Yes.- All right.- This doesn't seem too threatening, this one, to be honest.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20It's just like a roundabout.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Well, the purpose of this device, of course,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26is to test your tolerance to disorientation.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31I've heard that astronauts actually feared Brooks Air Force Base.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It's their least favourite place on the planet.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Is that true?
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Well, not...not exactly,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42but most pilots don't want to find out
0:23:42 > 0:23:45that they've got some shortcoming, if you would.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48So, assuming I have a reasonable tolerance to your rotating chair,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52does that mean I am suitable for space flight?
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Could I potentially go and do a space mission?
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Physically...probably, yes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Let's try it. Let's light this candle.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07- You ready? - Eyes closed. Sir, yes, sir.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Here we go. Starting to spin.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12- So I'm going to the right.- Mm-hm.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Clockwise.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Pfft, this is child's play.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26But I've a feeling it won't all be so easy.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Hello, sir. - Hello, sir.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- Scott. Nice to meet you. - James. Hello.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40I think Sergeant Scott here's got something
0:24:40 > 0:24:43a bit less pleasant for me in his centrifuge chamber.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49This is where the torture peaked for the Apollo astronauts too,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53where they were subjected to the crushing gravitational forces
0:24:53 > 0:24:57they'd experience during the launch of the Saturn V rocket.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Whoa!
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Smells a bit like an old Jag I once had, in here.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Your next ride's gonna be the 3G for 15 seconds.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15OK, Houston, we're ready to go.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18I think.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20- Check my crew. Data station? - Ready.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21- Is ready. Operator? - Ready.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22Is ready. Medical?
0:25:22 > 0:25:23- Ready. - Is ready. Final ready.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26SIREN BLARES
0:25:26 > 0:25:29And three, two, one, engage.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34- Legs tight. Deep breath. - JAMES GRUNTS
0:25:34 > 0:25:36- Breathe. - JAMES GASPS
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Short and sharp. Breathe.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40One, two, breathe.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43There you go. Squeeze your legs, your butt. Breathe.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46OK, don't work as hard. Breathe.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48One, two, breathe.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51You're doing a good job. Keep it up.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55And you're coming down to a complete stop. OK?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Is my heart and everything still working?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Your heart is working. Let's check with the doc.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- You're doing fine.- Righto.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06We're gonna do 5G for 30 seconds, sir.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07- 30?!- Yes, sir.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Bloody Nora.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11- Three, two, one, engage. - Bracing.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16And legs tight. Deep breath.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Breathe.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Short and sharp. Breathe.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21One, two.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23There you go. Stay with my count. Breathe.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26One, two, breathe.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Squeeze your legs, your butt. Breathe.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- OK, can you talk to me, sir?- Yes.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34My face doesn't feel very good. I can't move my arms.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Oh, God!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- You still see all the green lights? - Yep.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44You're doing a good job.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46And you're coming all the way down.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- Now you can relax. - JAMES GROANS
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- That was 30 seconds? - Yes, sir.
0:26:51 > 0:26:555G. So a Saturn V launch, the burn of the first stage,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58you'd have to put up with that for about 2.5 to 3 minutes...
0:26:58 > 0:27:00..then it would go suddenly to nought
0:27:00 > 0:27:04then you'd have another couple of minutes at 3, 3.5G.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Wow.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10And that, presumably, is why they lie on their back,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13cos I've just experienced G Zed -
0:27:13 > 0:27:16or G Zee, as the Americans call it -
0:27:16 > 0:27:17that is, the G is going that way
0:27:17 > 0:27:19and it pulls the blood out of your head, goes down...
0:27:19 > 0:27:21that's why you've gotta tense up your butt and your gut.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25If you're lying on your back, you don't get that problem so much.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28But then, of course, all that heaviness I felt in my arms,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30you'd feel in your chest - it would be like people sitting on you.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And that would make breathing very difficult.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34So either way, you've gotta be... HE LAUGHS
0:27:34 > 0:27:38You've gotta be pretty tough.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40Whoa.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Good job, sir.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Thanks.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52The boots felt too big when you put them on,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54but now they feel just right.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Surviving these tests was a superhuman feat
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and proof an astronaut could withstand
0:28:04 > 0:28:06extremes of physical and mental strain
0:28:06 > 0:28:08yet still keep their heads enough
0:28:08 > 0:28:10to fly the most complicated machine ever built.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Speaking with the astronauts,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21I learned that in fact none of them actually enjoyed
0:28:21 > 0:28:23having to come here and do all this stuff.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And more importantly, they all agree
0:28:25 > 0:28:28that no matter what they went through here,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31absolutely nothing, NOTHING, could prepare them
0:28:31 > 0:28:35for the reality of riding a Saturn V.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40Five, four, three, two. All engines running.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Lift-off. We have lift-off.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46RADIO CHATTER
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Suddenly, all that ruthless preparation made sense.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55The crushing forces, the adrenaline,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58the sheer challenge of flying this thing,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01were totally unprecedented in the history of flight.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08I thought I was prepared cos we'd trained for it so much.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11But when I was in the actual event,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14sitting on top of the Saturn V, 360 feet away from the engines,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17you can start to feel the vibration.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20I thought, "This thing is shaking way too much.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23"I don't know if the metal in this spacecraft
0:29:23 > 0:29:25"can withstand this shaking."
0:29:25 > 0:29:29We don't know if you can hear, ladies and gentlemen...
0:29:29 > 0:29:31I don't think anyone is ever prepared for that.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35It is a magnificent experience.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Our observation booth is literally being shaken apart.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41Our tape recorders are being blown to the floor
0:29:41 > 0:29:44by the roar of this mighty rocket.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48The vibration is so heavy you can't read the dials in the cockpit.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50RADIO CHATTER
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Well, I'm thinking, "This thing could come apart. Something's wrong."
0:29:53 > 0:29:55Well, something wasn't wrong.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59It was the fact that I had never been in a vehicle or anything else
0:29:59 > 0:30:04that had the vibration and shaking and noise that the Saturn V had.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06What a ride. What a ride.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14It's exhilarating. Plus you know what you're doing.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16You're on your way to the Moon.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23There's nothing to say about it. What can you say about a sight like that?
0:30:27 > 0:30:29This is Houston.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33This is the legendary Mission Control.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36As soon as the launch had cleared the top of the tower in Florida,
0:30:36 > 0:30:40all the administration and the management of the whole shebang
0:30:40 > 0:30:43was handed over to the people in here.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Eventually, we would arrive at a time
0:30:45 > 0:30:47where there were three blokes in a tin can
0:30:47 > 0:30:50orbiting the Moon 60 miles above its surface
0:30:50 > 0:30:53and about 250,000 miles away.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55And then two of them would climb into
0:30:55 > 0:30:58what is really the shonkiest-looking spacecraft ever built,
0:30:58 > 0:30:59the lunar module,
0:30:59 > 0:31:04and descend those last 60 miles to the surface of the Moon.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07When they did that, they were talked down by one man.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10He sat here. He was known as CapCom.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Capsule Communications.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15And he was the only person, no matter who else was in this room,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17who actually spoke to the crew
0:31:17 > 0:31:20because he was also an astronaut.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And the man who sat here was Charlie Duke.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Eagle, looking great. You're go.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28As well as talking down the first lunar landing from Houston,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Charlie Duke had trained alongside Neil Armstrong
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and got his own chance to walk on the Moon three years later
0:31:34 > 0:31:37as lunar module pilot on Apollo 16.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42The lunar module probably presented the biggest challenge of all
0:31:42 > 0:31:43because landing it on the Moon
0:31:43 > 0:31:46was essentially a rocket launch in reverse,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49something that had never been done before.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51And despite their best efforts,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54NASA simply couldn't simulate it properly on Earth,
0:31:54 > 0:31:58although they nearly killed Neil Armstrong in their attempts.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06As someone who was there when they first did it for real,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10I'm hoping Charlie Duke can tell me how they pulled it off.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15This is an area of typically smart Texan suburbia.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Over there is a man who can probably help you with your tax return.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Over there, someone who can sort your teeth out.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22But this is where Charlie Duke lives,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and he can tell me how to land on the Moon.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31I've got the morning news here if you're interested. Over.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39- Charlie Duke.- 'Tis I. Ha!
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- James, come in. Nice to see you. - Thank you. And you.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- Talk about landing on the Moon. - Yeah, right.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47- May I?- Sure.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54That's our little lunar module model.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56What's amazing when you see it again
0:32:56 > 0:33:00is it is the shonkiest-looking bit of flight hardware in history.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It's really strange.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05When I first saw it, I said, "Is this thing really gonna fly?"
0:33:05 > 0:33:09You know, it's strange-looking but it was a great flying machine.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Course, it would only operate in a vacuum.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16It's too flimsy to try to put in an atmosphere or somewhere.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20So it was a true spacecraft, designed for landing on the Moon
0:33:20 > 0:33:23and flying around lunar orbit.
0:33:23 > 0:33:24And that was it.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Obviously it doesn't fly in the accepted aeronautical sense
0:33:27 > 0:33:31cos there's no air, which is why it presumably doesn't matter
0:33:31 > 0:33:32that it's this terrible shape.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35- That's right. - But how did it actually handle?
0:33:35 > 0:33:38To me, it was like flying a helicopter.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41As the pilot, Charlie navigated the lunar module
0:33:41 > 0:33:43from the window on the right,
0:33:43 > 0:33:44while his commander, John Young,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48handled the controls over to his left.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Why were the windows so small?
0:33:50 > 0:33:53That seems mean, considering you were about to look at the Moon
0:33:53 > 0:33:55for the first time that close up.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58They really gave you good visibility.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00John, on his side, had a sort of a ladder
0:34:00 > 0:34:02etched on his window
0:34:02 > 0:34:07and it was numbered, like 30, 35, 40, 45,
0:34:07 > 0:34:08and I would say, "John, LPD 40."
0:34:08 > 0:34:1341 LPD. 30,000 feet on profile.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14He would look through the 40
0:34:14 > 0:34:19and where his eyesight in a line of sight hit the ground,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21that's where he's gonna land if he doesn't do anything.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23I just wanna make sure I've understood that properly.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26The way of guiding the lunar module down to the surface of the Moon
0:34:26 > 0:34:29was with some lines drawn on the window?
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Basically, yeah.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38Charlie Duke makes landing on the Moon sound like reversing a car into your garage.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40But in July 1969,
0:34:40 > 0:34:44when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin headed for the Moon in Apollo 11's Eagle,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47no-one had ever done it before.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48- OK. Retro?- Go.
0:34:48 > 0:34:49- Final.- Go.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- Guide. Patrol.- Go. Go.
0:34:51 > 0:34:52- Surgeon.- Go.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54CapCom, we're go to continue PDI.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Mum, Dad and I joined 600 million people
0:34:57 > 0:34:59round the world in front of our TV sets
0:34:59 > 0:35:02and listened to the words of Charlie Duke.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04We're go. Same time. We're go.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07But back then, I had no idea things weren't going to plan.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11WHITE NOISE
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Armstrong kept losing radio contact with Houston
0:35:14 > 0:35:17and was two miles off course.
0:35:17 > 0:35:1950 down at 2.5. 19 forward.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22He was heading for a huge boulder field
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and alarms rang out as the computer threatened to abort the landing.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Roger, 12.02. We copy it.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Armstrong coolly took the controls
0:35:31 > 0:35:33and looking through his tiny window,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35searched for somewhere safe to land.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37100 feet. 3.5 down. 9 forward.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41That's why NASA put elite test pilots on board.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Down 2.5.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Back in Houston, Charlie Duke was getting worried.
0:35:47 > 0:35:48We were running out of gas.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51'60 seconds.'
0:35:51 > 0:35:53I called 60 seconds,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55which meant they had another 60 seconds to land,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and then I called 30 seconds.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59'30 seconds.'
0:35:59 > 0:36:02You could hear a pin drop in Mission Control, which was rare.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05And then I heard...
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Contact light. OK. Engines stop.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I knew they were on the ground. Hopefully OK.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13And so I said, "Roger, copy, you down, Eagle."
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And then Neil comes back a few seconds later, says...
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21We all erupted.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30I came up with some statement like, "Roger, we copy on the ground."
0:36:30 > 0:36:34'We got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:40The first words that we heard from space there
0:36:40 > 0:36:43this afternoon from Aldrin and from Armstrong,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46"Tranquillity Base, the Eagle has landed,"
0:36:46 > 0:36:48are words that every schoolboy over coming generations
0:36:48 > 0:36:50are probably going to have to learn
0:36:50 > 0:36:52and pass on to succeeding generations.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56We'd like to give a special thanks...
0:36:58 > 0:37:02..to all those Americans who built those spacecraft.
0:37:04 > 0:37:05And to all the other people
0:37:05 > 0:37:08that are listening and watching tonight...
0:37:09 > 0:37:11..God bless you.
0:37:11 > 0:37:12Good night from Apollo 11.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14None of the thrill had worn off
0:37:14 > 0:37:19by the time Charlie Duke experienced his own Moon landing.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Were you excited about landing on the Moon
0:37:21 > 0:37:23or were you totally absorbed in controlling the thing
0:37:23 > 0:37:25and making sure you didn't snap the legs off?
0:37:25 > 0:37:28No, we were excited about landing on the Moon.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31'Perfect place over here, John. A couple of big boulders.'
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Especially when we got down close. We had plenty of fuel.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37'The fuel is good. 10%.'
0:37:37 > 0:37:39The closer you got, the more dust you blew away
0:37:39 > 0:37:41and it was like landing through the fog
0:37:41 > 0:37:43and I was calling out...
0:37:43 > 0:37:46'50 feet. Down in 4. Give me one click up.'
0:37:46 > 0:37:48"...Ten feet, five feet."
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Then we hit. The little blue light comes on, says...
0:37:51 > 0:37:52'Contact.'
0:37:52 > 0:37:54John shut the engine down and we hit the ground
0:37:54 > 0:37:57and we just erupted with excitement and enthusiasm.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59It was really fun.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02'Wow! Oh, man! Nice landing.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06'Percy Precision has planted one on the plains of Descartes!'
0:38:10 > 0:38:12In all, six Apollo missions landed.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16They had some serious work to do,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19taking photos and collecting rock,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21more than 800 lb of it between them.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25And by the fourth mission, they even needed a car.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Since I'm a car enthusiast, I have to ask you
0:38:29 > 0:38:33what the lunar rover was actually like to drive on the Moon.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36The Moon was very rough so you had good suspension system.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Each wheel had its own individual suspension system.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41You'd hit a bump and you'd hit a little crater
0:38:41 > 0:38:43and it'd start bouncing.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47Occasionally we broke loose and we had a little skid
0:38:47 > 0:38:49either one way or the other.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51The most severe we had was 180 degrees.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56We actually spun out 180 degrees as we went down into a little crater.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- You spun on the Moon in a car? - Uh-huh. We did. Yeah.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07I've often been intrigued about how you'd find your way around
0:39:07 > 0:39:08once you were on the Moon.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Judging distance on the Moon was extremely difficult.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14'Look at the size of that rock!'
0:39:14 > 0:39:17You have no familiar objects on the Moon.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20You're looking at rocks and craters that you've never seen before.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23'That's about halfway maybe.'
0:39:24 > 0:39:29A big rock far away looks very similar to a smaller rock close in.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31'It is a biggie, innit?
0:39:31 > 0:39:34'It may be further away than we think.'
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Presumably compasses are useless because there are no poles, so...
0:39:40 > 0:39:42There's no magnetic field on the Moon
0:39:42 > 0:39:47so our navigation system on the rover
0:39:47 > 0:39:51consisted of a gyroscope and an odometer on one of the wheels.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54The odometer gave us the mileage.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57The gyroscope gave us the direction.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59When we started driving,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01we were seeing a lot of things that weren't on our maps,
0:40:01 > 0:40:07because the maps were only down to a resolution of 15 metres.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09So anything less than that was not on the map.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13You go over a ridge and there's a 10-metre crater in front of you.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17And a 10-metre crater's a deep crater. It's 30 feet.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19But if you ever worried about getting lost,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22all you had to do was make a U-turn and follow your tracks back.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Cos it left them in the dust?
0:40:24 > 0:40:25The tracks are still there.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Few of the Apollo astronauts
0:40:38 > 0:40:42have found it easy to come to terms with a normal life back on Earth.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45For Alan Bean, trying to express what the Moon meant to him
0:40:45 > 0:40:48has become his sole mission in life...
0:40:48 > 0:40:50as an artist.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52Do you only paint space now?
0:40:52 > 0:40:53It's all I do,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56because I am the only artist in all history
0:40:56 > 0:40:59that's ever been off this Earth and seen what's there
0:40:59 > 0:41:01and come home.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05In your pictures, people seem to be having quite a good time on the Moon.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07That one especially. And that one.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Doesn't look like it was all work.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11No, it wasn't.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Humans don't like to work all the time.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16We want to work and then we want to have relaxation, some fun.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19'Hippity, hoppity, hippity, hoppity.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20'Hippity hopping over the hill.'
0:41:20 > 0:41:22In fact, I think that's one of the things
0:41:22 > 0:41:24that my paintings bring out.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26I'd thrown some rocks up,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29and I found that I could only throw underhanded in that suit.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31But I threw underhanded
0:41:31 > 0:41:34and the rocks would just go up and up and almost out of sight.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37So as I go by, I look over, and on the ground over here
0:41:37 > 0:41:39is a big piece of foil.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42And so I said, "Boy, this foil would be even more fun."
0:41:42 > 0:41:44And I watched it go up and up and up,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47more than anybody could ever throw a ball.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49Even an Olympic athlete
0:41:49 > 0:41:51couldn't throw anything as high as that.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53See, here we were down on Earth
0:41:53 > 0:41:55thinking you were risking your neck at the new frontier of space
0:41:55 > 0:41:58and you were just up on the Moon larking about.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Well, we were risking our neck, laughing about and playing games.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05# I was strolling on the Moon one day
0:42:05 > 0:42:08# In the merry, merry month of... #
0:42:08 > 0:42:09- December...- No. May.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11# ..May. #
0:42:11 > 0:42:12May, that's right...
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Meeting three men who actually walked on the Moon
0:42:22 > 0:42:24has been a remarkable experience.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28And while no-one could ever deny the magnificence of their achievement,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31it has to be recognised that 40 years on,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34it's all beginning to gather a certain amount of Earth dust.
0:42:34 > 0:42:35They're old men now.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39The Apollo rocket has become a tourist attraction.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43It's reckoned that 400,000 people were involved
0:42:43 > 0:42:45in sending men to the Moon,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49so you could argue that it was brains that sent men to the Moon.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51But at the end,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55you still needed somebody to occupy the pointy bit of the rocket.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57You needed some men
0:42:57 > 0:43:00who were prepared to strap themselves on top of a booster
0:43:00 > 0:43:03that developed 7.5 million pounds of thrust
0:43:03 > 0:43:07and was going to blast them into the void of space.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11So, yes, it was a giant leap for mankind,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14but it was also a giant leap into the unknown,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17and they knew it.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19That's what the right stuff was.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Hopefully, I'm not entirely the wrong stuff.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Back at Beale Air Force Base in California,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42I'm hoping for a small taste of what it felt like
0:43:42 > 0:43:44to be a space pioneer,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46to be higher than anyone else.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53I'm actually going to do something very special today -
0:43:53 > 0:43:56something I've sort of dreamed about since I was seven years old
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and making that model of the Apollo rocket.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01I'm going to go up extremely high in a spacesuit -
0:44:01 > 0:44:04which is actually necessary to keep me alive.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06It's not just comedic dressing up for television.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08And I'm going to be able to look down
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and I'll be able to see the curvature of the Earth.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15That's an enormous privilege. Not very many people will get to do that.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Anyway, most importantly -
0:44:17 > 0:44:20astronaut breakfast.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25Since it could turn out to be their last-ever meals,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29Apollo astronauts generally got stuck into very butch steak and eggs.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34Major "Cabi" Cabigas will be flying my U-2 spy plane,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38and Lieutenant-Colonel "Meat" Broce will be helping us take off and land
0:44:38 > 0:44:40from the chase car.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45No doubt they'll be having a proper breakfast.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49But I think I'm going for... a more delicate option.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56Is that all you're gonna have?
0:44:56 > 0:45:01I thought it'd be better for in-flight comfort.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04Has a U-2 mission ever been aborted because of somebody's bowels?
0:45:04 > 0:45:06- I'm afraid so.- Hmm.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10This has already been a tough ride.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14You can't just walk in off the street and into the cockpit of a U-2.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19"Are you currently feeling threatened or afraid?"
0:45:19 > 0:45:21I've had three days' intensive training
0:45:21 > 0:45:23on emergency ejection...
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Unless you're screaming for dear Mother and God all the way down,
0:45:27 > 0:45:29you should have plenty of air.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30I will be.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32..on survival at the edge of space...
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Three, two, one.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Arggh!
0:45:37 > 0:45:40..and on my lifeline - my spacesuit.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Because although space officially starts 62 miles up,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47even at 13 miles, we'll be in atmosphere so thin
0:45:47 > 0:45:52it would have exactly the same effect on my body as space itself.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Out there, with less than 5% normal air pressure,
0:45:55 > 0:46:00one tear in the fabric of my suit would mean curtains.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04One thing is suddenly very clear to me -
0:46:04 > 0:46:08the know-how that put men on the Moon and kept them alive in their suits
0:46:08 > 0:46:12was founded on the experience of high-altitude pioneers
0:46:12 > 0:46:14like the U-2 pilots.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Now, my flight leaves in one hour.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19Normally, in the last hour before departure
0:46:19 > 0:46:21you go and buy a magazine
0:46:21 > 0:46:24and have a double mocha choca topper from a coffee place,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27but this time I'm going to sit here and breathe pure oxygen
0:46:27 > 0:46:29in a sealed suit,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32because that will purge my blood of nitrogen.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35Nitrogen at altitude could give you the bends.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38So what I'm sort of doing here is saving my life, in a way,
0:46:38 > 0:46:40if anything goes wrong.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42This is exactly what the Apollo astronauts did
0:46:42 > 0:46:44for an hour before blast-off -
0:46:44 > 0:46:47sit in a chair, read a magazine, breathe O2.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49It's very good for you.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51It's making me feel a bit high, actually.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53Is that normal?
0:46:58 > 0:47:00BREATHING DEEPLY
0:47:44 > 0:47:46- Go get 'em, James!- Thanks.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16RADIO CHATTER
0:48:38 > 0:48:41There's two. Two.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Two, one.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46If you're ready to go...
0:48:46 > 0:48:47I'm ready to go.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Whoa!
0:48:54 > 0:48:56That is heaven.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58HE LAUGHS
0:48:58 > 0:49:00500 feet takeoff.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03And we're off.
0:49:05 > 0:49:06That's marvellous.
0:49:09 > 0:49:10HE LAUGHS
0:49:13 > 0:49:16RADIO CHATTER
0:49:20 > 0:49:22Into the weather.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28- Whoa!- Stand by one there.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30- That's quite a climb.- No kidding.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33That is incredible.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40We've just passed the altitude of Everest,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43so already if I was outside, I'd be feeling pretty squiffy.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47There's the altimeter.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49There's the view.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02We're just approaching the start of what was "space" in the old days.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03That's correct. Here it comes.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05See? There it is.
0:50:05 > 0:50:10If this were 1955, we'd be considered spacemen,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14because at that height, the atmosphere would kill you
0:50:14 > 0:50:16as certainly as space would.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18You'd just boil. You'd be dead in seconds.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Just below us... You see on the left side below?
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- See that airliner below us? - Oh, man!
0:50:24 > 0:50:27There it is. I think I got it, just briefly, on the camera.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Fantastic!
0:50:29 > 0:50:33So that is now almost as far below us
0:50:33 > 0:50:38as it normally would be above us if we were standing on the ground.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40I knew this would happen.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44I need to scratch my face.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Just think about other stuff. It goes away.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48But...
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Think about other things and it goes away?
0:50:51 > 0:50:53- That's what I do.- OK.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Oh, God. Arggh!
0:50:55 > 0:50:58I'm thinking about other... LAUGHING
0:50:58 > 0:51:00Or you could try your water bottle.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03What - stick the straw through the...?
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Bend the straw first.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09There's a risk of making it worse doing this.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11I got it. Mmm!
0:51:11 > 0:51:16Mmm! Oh, yes!
0:51:16 > 0:51:19It's not easy, is it?
0:51:19 > 0:51:20No, not at all.
0:51:20 > 0:51:2460,000ft has just gone past and we're now at an altitude
0:51:24 > 0:51:28where things like tears and saliva and other body fluids
0:51:28 > 0:51:31would boil pretty much instantly if you stepped outside.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41I can already see why people go into space
0:51:41 > 0:51:43and then spend all their time
0:51:43 > 0:51:45blabbering on about how wonderful Earth is,
0:51:45 > 0:51:48because it just looks fabulous from up here.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56I think I'm gonna have a little bit of lunch.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58- You're having lunch? - Yes, sir.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Righto, I might join you. What flavour are you having?
0:52:01 > 0:52:05I have clam chowder at the moment.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08I'm having peaches.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Oh, yeah. Good choice.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Here we go, then, for space peaches.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17Oh, it's nice. It's like baby food.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Mmm.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Sod the peaches - I've just noticed the view.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29I'm liking that very much indeed.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32It's gorgeous.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43I've just noticed how dark the sky is.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45God, I hadn't looked up.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47It's quite dark, isn't it?
0:52:47 > 0:52:49That's incredible.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54There it is - 70,000ft.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57It's interesting to think that at this altitude
0:52:57 > 0:53:0395% of the Earth's atmosphere, by mass, is below us.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07It's a skin on the top. It's a mist. Nothing more than that.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13CHUCKLING
0:53:13 > 0:53:15This is madness.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Is there anybody else up here? Presumably not.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19I think it's fair to say the only people higher than us right now
0:53:19 > 0:53:22are in the International Space Station.
0:53:22 > 0:53:23That's correct.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28I think that means Major Cabigas and Student Spaceman May
0:53:28 > 0:53:31are the second-highest people in the world.
0:53:31 > 0:53:32Yes!
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Oh, man, I've got the curvature of the horizon thing.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Look at that. That's perfect.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41- Yeah.- That just looks fantastic.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Oh, it's lovely.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47Do you get bored of looking at that? Surely not.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49Oh, I never do.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Oh, it's terrific.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57Let's see if it works... Oh, yes!
0:54:00 > 0:54:03Does make me feel slightly emotional.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Feel free.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Man in heaven.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13JAMES CHUCKLES
0:54:15 > 0:54:18The sky looks just breathtaking.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23If indeed that is the sky. Most of the sky is below us.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27I think that might be the view of eternity.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Technically speaking, you are correct.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32Sorry - do tell me if I'm rabbiting on too much,
0:54:32 > 0:54:34but I've never done this before.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37This is a fantastic privilege, being able to see this.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I'm just...I'm slightly lost for words.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44It's just staggering.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49I think the term you're looking for is "gobsmacked", aren't you?
0:54:50 > 0:54:54Can I just say thank you for bringing me up here, major?
0:54:54 > 0:54:58- You're absolutely welcome. - It's absolutely...just...
0:54:58 > 0:55:01..almost impossible to articulate what it feels like.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05That is the real shape of the good Earth.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07It's rather humbling.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Gear, flaps, lights, stall strips, speed brakes.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Lined up with the centre lines.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32We're decelerating down to 76 knots.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Thank you. Breathtaking.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11You're welcome. Welcome to the world of high flying.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16I'm slightly lost for words.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25- There you go.- Oh, God.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Sorry, I'm slightly... Whoa!
0:56:29 > 0:56:31It's amazing.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33It's not like you imagine it.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35It's not like being twice as high as an airliner.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39It's like being in a completely different sphere of human activity.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44You forget about the helmet, the oxygen, and everything.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48You just see this... It's just incredible.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49If everybody could do that once,
0:56:49 > 0:56:54it would completely change the face of global politics,
0:56:54 > 0:56:58religion, education, everything.
0:57:00 > 0:57:01Thank you, Skipper.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04It's going to take a while for that to sink in,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06and that was just 13 miles up.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Imagine seeing the Earth from almost a quarter of a million miles away.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15The Apollo astronauts saw it for what it really is -
0:57:15 > 0:57:19nothing more than a dust mote left over from the Big Bang.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23No wonder it had such an effect on them.
0:57:23 > 0:57:2712 of us got to do that, so it was a great honour
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and a great privilege, but also a great adventure.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38I can remember looking back at Earth while we were in lunar orbit.
0:57:38 > 0:57:45I held up my hand and underneath my hand was the Earth.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49And that's a real unique perspective.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53The thought occurred to me, "There's five billion people under my hand."
0:57:55 > 0:58:01The only thing I can say that the Moon has changed
0:58:01 > 0:58:03since I was on the Moon,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05for me, personally,
0:58:05 > 0:58:09is that I notice it more, I think.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13I do.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15It catches my eye.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19Yeah, I'm not surprised.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24My wife and I can go out to West Texas and park our car
0:58:24 > 0:58:26and watch that beautiful Moon come up
0:58:26 > 0:58:28and it's still romantic to me.
0:58:28 > 0:58:33I see it as it comes up and it's beautiful to me,
0:58:33 > 0:58:36but the thought does occur, "I've been there."
0:58:36 > 0:58:43And that's different than most anybody else on Earth can say.
0:59:07 > 0:59:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:11 > 0:59:15E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk